Casket handle



Maren 1-7, 1931. 5, JUNKUNC 1,796,373

CASKET HANDLE Filed July 20. 1928 Patented Mar. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES STEPHEN JUNKUNC, F OAK PARK, ILLINOIS CASKET HANDLE Application filed. July 20, 1928. Serial No. 294,134.

A type of casket handle in wide use is one in which the handheld is in the form of a bar secured to the outer ends of two parallel arms hinged to the supporting base. These bars are given theirfinal surface finish before being attached to the arms, and it is desirable that the assembling of the bars on the arms be effected without marring the finish of the bars. Furthermore, it is desirable that the operation of assembling the parts of the handles be simple and'easy.

Finally, it is desirable that the several parts of a handle be fastened together tightly so that there will be no looseness in a handle.

The object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel casket handle construction in which will be embodied all of the desirable characteristics above enumerated.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claim; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of a handle constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a section on an enlarged scale on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view,

on the same scale as Fig. 2, showing the rear side of the handle at the juncture of one of the supporting arms and the cross bar; Fig.

4 is a perspective View of the gripping and clamping plate between one of the arms and the bar; Fig. 5 is a section on the same plane as Fig. 2, but on a larger scale, showing fragments of the bar-gripping elements before the assembly has been completed; and

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the extreme free end of one of the arms of the handle.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, 1 rep resents a base plate of any usual or suitable construction adapted to be secured to the wall 2 of the casket or structure. Hinged at one end to the base member are two parallel arms 3, 3, between the free ends of which extends a cross bar 4 constituting the grip or handhold. All of these parts, except as hereinafter explained, may take any usual or preferred forms.

The arms of a handle are usually made of sheet metal bent into trough-like form, and that is the type of handle that I have illustrated. At the outer or free end of each of the arms is a seat for the cross bar. In the arrangement shown, this seat is produced by flattening and bending a section of the fiattened portion rearward at right angles to the arm proper. In accordance with my invention, the seats in the arms are open so as to permit the bar to be'inserted in the same by a lateral movement.

In order effectively to clamp the bar in its seats in the arms, I provide simple clamping plates each of which is adapted to be laid across the rear side of the bar and be secured at its ends to the underlying arm. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the seat for the bar consists of a flat section 5 constituting a continuation of what may be termed the bottom of the trough in the arm; the sides of the trough being cut 05 abruptly so that the edges 6 of the side portions of the trough form an inner abutment or bearing face. Beyond the flattened portion 5 is a section 7 extending at right angles thereto. At the free end of the section 7 is a comparatively narrow'tongue 8. Projecting inwardly from the sides of the trough in the arm, only a short distance from the seat for the bar, are lips 9.

The clamping or holding member consists of a plate 10 narrowed and curved at one end to form a hook 11 that is adapted to be inserted underneath the lips or ears 9 after the bar has been laid in place. The hook is actually at the end of what may be termed a tail 12 extending at an angle to the body portion of the clamping plate. Therefore, When the tail of the clamping plate is hooked under the lips on the arm, one of the corners of the bar will lie in the angle between the body portion of the clamping plate and the tail. Near the end of the clamping plate opposite that of which the hook is located, is a slot or window 13 adapted to register with the tongue 8 on the arm and permit the passage of the tongue through the same when the clamping plate is pressed down. After the clamping plate has been hooked into the arm and the tongue 8 has been brought through the slot or window in the clamping plate, the tongue is bent over, preferably by striking it a light blow, locking the clamping plate down. The clamping plate is preferably somewhat concave, as viewed from the outer side, so that it will be pressed down with a spring pressure when the tongue 8 is clinched. In other words, the pocket in which the bar finds itself after the clamping plate has been applied, tends to contract about the bar, thus insuring that the bar will be gripped tightly to avoid looseness or rattling.

The extreme end of the clamping plate is preferably turned over, as indicated at 14, to form a flange that will overlap the end of the arm section 7 in the vicinity of the base of the tongue on the latter. The clamping plate is also preferably provided with :a prong 15 that will be driven into the side of the bar when the clamping plate is pressed down in the act of securing it in place. The bars are usually made of metal sheathed wood, so that the prong will puncture the sheathing and enter the wood.

It will thus be seen that the bar is firmly held by means of two powerful clamping grips, while the prongs insure against any endwise movement of the bar when subjected to abnormal stresses. It will also be seen that this secure fastening of the bar is the result of a simple and inexpensive construction which permits the bar to be laid in place without danger of scratching its exposed surface, while the actual fastening is affected by the mere hooking of one end of each clamping plate under the li as or ears on the arms, and the subsequent striking of a single blow at the outer end of eachclamping plate. In other words, my improved construction is simple and inexpensive; the parts of a complete handle may be quickly and easily assembled withoutdanger of marring the surface of the bar; and, after the parts have been assembled, the handle is strong and rigid, acting in substantially the same way as though it were made of a single piece.

It will also be seen that by reason of the resilient initially curved clamping member, bars may vary slightly in cross-sectional dimensions and still be firmly gripped and. be pressed tightly against-the section 5 of the arm, so that there will never be any space left between the side of the bar which is nor mally the outer side and the overlying portions of the two arms.

When the handle hangs down in its normal idle position, as it appears in Fig. 1 no parts of the fastening means are visible. When the handle is swung out at right angles to the plane of the sheet in Fig. l, (the working position,) the flange on the clamp ing plate is the only element of the fastening means that is exposed to view. Consequently, since this flange will have the same surface finish as the arm portions of the handle, it may be said that my simple efl'ective bar-holding means, in use, does not at any time permit the fastenings to be seen.

\Nhile Ihave illustrated.andidescribed with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to 'the'exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claim.

I claim:

In a handle, an arm havinga seat in the side near one end, a clamping plate adapted to overlie the seat and clamp a .bar therein, hook means detachably to connect the inner end of the clamping plate .to the arm,.a tongue on the arm outwardly from the seat, and there being an opening in the outer end of the clamping plate to receive said tongue, said clamping plate being curved in a direction to cause the plate to lay itself on the bar progressively as the outer end is forced down'to receive said tongue.

In testimony whereof, I sign thisspeoification.

STEPHEN JUNKUNC. 

